An Epidemic Returns
by devonm0
Summary: The Aparoids are back, and along with their return, an enigmatic individual suddenly appears from nowhere. Strange and difficult times lie ahead. Rated T, but subject to change.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Fox McCloud was lazily lounging about in the living room of his home. Suddenly, Krystal walked up to him, and said, "Fox, your son wants you."

Fox jerked up from his lounging position, and sighed heavily. Krystal cleared her throat, and said, "Um...now would be nice."

At that comment, Fox hastily yelled, "Alright!"

Krystal kind of flinched and stepped back at Fox's outburst. Fox saw this, and said, "Krystal, I'm sorry. I've been kind of down a lot. Maybe I'm not as ready to be a father as I thought."

Krystal cocked an eyebrow, and said with a smirk, "Well, you chose to go as far as you did, and now it's too late. I kept saying you should have taken some kind of precaution."

Fox smirked back, and said, "Well, we could always put him up for adoption."

Krystal placed a paw over her muzzle as she gasped, and said, "You can't be serious!"

Fox couldn't help but laugh, and said, "Of course I'm not serious! Still, it was good for a laugh."

Krystal was fuming at that, but she managed to calm down, and said, "You are such a tease."

Fox smirked again, and said, "I know, aren't I?"

Then Marcus, their son, called Fox again, and Krystal said, "I think you should go to him."

Fox then asked Krystal, "And he can't come to me because...?"

Krystal gasped in disbelief, and hit Fox over the head with her open hand. Fox rubbed his head afterwards, and asked, "What was that for?!"

To that, Krystal replied, "You're the one who told him to go to his room for an hour!"

Fox then thought for a little while, and hit himself at the forehead, and said, "I can't believe I forgot."

He then went to Marcus' room to see what he wanted. When he opened the door, Marcus simply stood there, a nervous expression on his face, and his hands behind his back. Fox tried to peer behind his son's back, but Marcus just turned to prevent him from doing so. Fox then said sternly, "Paws out front."

Marcus simply stood there. Fox tapped his foot impatiently, and said, "I know this is why you called me here, now show me."

Marcus again did not move. Fox then yelled, "NOW!!!"

Marcus jumped, and swiftly thrust his paws in front of him in compliance to his father's demands. Fox gasped when he saw what he held. He asked Marcus in a stern voice, "Where did you get this?"

Marcus did not answer. Fox then said, "I prefer not to use force with you."

Marcus then sighed, and said, "I found it at the corner of Main Street and Pepper Avenue. I wasn't sure what it was, and no one would tell me."

Fox then said, "Destroy it."

Marcus suddenly got a curious look on his face. Fox then yelled, "NOW MARCUS!!!"

Marcus gulped, then nodded. He placed it on the ground, and stepped on it. However, it did not break. Fox sighed, and said, "Great. How did it get here, anyway?!"

At that point, Krystal walked in, and said, "What is it, Fox?"

Fox picked up the object, and showed it to Krystal. She gasped, and said, "Impossible!"

Fox then said, "Exactly what I thought at first."

Krystal then began sobbing, and said, "Not again..."

Fox embraced his crying mate, and said assuringly, "Don't worry, we won't let it happen again. But we have to get rid of that as a first step."

Krystal nodded, and said, "So, Fox, how do we do that?"

Fox thought about it, and then said, "Let's talk to Beltino about it. If anyone knows how to destroy it, it should be him."

Krystal nodded again, and said, "Well, let's go."

In response to that, Fox said, "You're right. We can't give whatever Aparoids somehow survived the Apoptosis program a chance to pinpoint the location of this Core Memory."

Marcus saw something fall from the sky, and said, "Hey, mom, dad, did the weather channel mention a chance of the sky raining insect-like things?"

Fox gasped when he heard that, and Krystal couldn't help but cry again. Fox said in almost a whisper, "Oh no, they've found us..."

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Well, I think that's good for a prologue. Yes, the Aparoids are back.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A New Face-Friend of Foe?

Suddenly, a window broke in Fox's home, and an aparoid, one of the small, fast ones lunged into the room. Krystal gasped, and Fox simply grabbed his blaster, which he kept at his side, just in case. Fox fed the aparoid a heaping helping of plasma, and it took several shots. It's sheer endurance greatly surprised him, which was obvious as he said, "Strange, they could never take that much damage before."

Suddenly, Marcus gasped as a number of aparoids, about thirty, were climbing up the house. They wanted the Core Memory that they held, but they wouldn't get it without a fight. Fox would see to that. He growled low, and pulled the trigger, holding it in place and letting the energy ammunition coaggulate into a more powerful shot. He released the shot at the first aparoid that appeared in the window. He missed, somehow, and that was the last thing he needed to have happen. The group of aparoids soon had them surrounded, and as they roared, Fox gritted his teeth and held his family close. All that, and yet the assault never came. Fox opened his eyes to see aparoids, no, wait, parts of aparoid bodies, scattered across the ground. The floor was also charred beneath them. A nervous chuckle, followed by a cocky statement gave Fox assurance. "Falco! Man, you sure have a habit of showing up in the nick of time!"

Falco put his hands, er, wings, whatever, on his hips, and said to them "Sorry for the wait, and also the floor. I noticed the aparoids crowding your window, and the realization that you needed help took some time to sink in. As for the floor, the only thing I could think of was to eradicate them with a grenade."

Fox sighed, and said "As long as it turned out ok."

Suddenly, Falco heard something that sounded kind of like gears whirring, yet he knew what it truly was. He simply said, "Oh boy, we've got company!"

Krystal desired the thought that it was just a bad dream to be proven true, and yet she would not wake up. As she winced, holding her arm as she was scratched by an aparoid, and heard her mate's concerned voice ringing in her ear, she realized that above all, it was frighteningly real. This was actually happening, and no amount of hoping otherwise was going to change that. Appropriate action was their only way out, yet neither she nor her teammates knew exactly how to act. Just as the replacement aparoids were about to climb in through the window, a commanding voice sounded. Whoever it was yelled "Alright men, take 'em down! Do not let them proceed!"

At that command the sound of open fire on the aparoids was heard. After that, silence, and then the agonized cries of the soldiers. Falco gasped when he heard that, and then, someone burst through the door. That someone, Fox recognized, and was very relieved to see. However, he had an urgent look on his face. He called to Fox and his family "Come! We need to get you away from here!"

Fox was dumbfounded, which was apparent in his tone of voice when he asked "What?!"

Beltino, urgent look still plastered upon his face, said "This building will be gone in a minute! You need to evacuate!"

Fox shook his head, trying to make sense of it all, and said "But what about our...?"

Beltino interrupted him with the stern words, "There's no time for you to grab any possessions! Let's go!"

Fox hesitated, and Krystal sobbed. Marcus was just confused. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Fox, however, decided that they would either leave all they owned behind, and live to fight for Lylat, or stay, trying to pack everything, or anything at all, and be wiped from existance. It was now or never, and as hard as it was, he knew the right decision. He grabbed Krystal's left paw in his right, and led her swiftly out of the building. Falco looked around, and seeing that Marcus was not there, he began to worry. Then, he saw him in the right arm of his mother, and decided that he would instead carry something else out. It was the thing that Fox was mainly worried about leaving behind, though he did not know it. Still, something inside knew that it would save his good friend a lot of grief, and so he did not hesitate to grab it. He got out of the building not far behind the others, and right as he fled from the doorway, an enormous amount of energy burst across the street, unwavering, and demolishing what was once their house, as well as several others behind it, before crossing the horizon and breaching the atmosphere. Falco breathed a sigh of relief, he had leapt out of the doorway just in time to avoid the energy burst, which was of incredible magnitude. He stood up, brushed himself off, and picked up what he had saved. He looked over to Fox, who looked very depressed. Fox punched the ground, and said, "Damn it! All those months of restless hard work, lost in an instant!"

Krystal couldn't believe what she was hearing her mate say, and she proved it by saying, "That is NOT the Fox McCloud attitude! Think about the bigger picture, what would have happened if you had tried to save it! This way, you at least have a chance to try to do it again!"

Falco laughed when Krystal said that, and Fox couldn't believe it. Falco had his hands behind his back, and Fox couldn't comprehend why he might. Suddenly, Falco spoke up, saying to Fox, "Krystal is right. You've got to count your blessings. At least you were given a warning. Now, quit complaining and just look to the future!"

Fox was caught between emotions of confusion and anger as he replied, "Look to the future? That thing took me months to even get as far with it as I did. It wasn't easy to get as far as I did! How can I ignore the fact that such an accomplishment is history just like that?"

Falco shook his head, and said, "The way you're talking people might think you're complaining over a video game. Anyway, it may be sudden, but I think you should try to stop lingering on past events. Look to the future, starting with what's right in front of you."

By this time, Falco had brought his hands around front, and there, resting in them, was what Fox was making such a fuss over his assumed loss of. Fox looked at it, and then asked, completely shocked, "H-how did you--"

Falco interrupted him by saying, "That's not important."

Krystal, all the while, was looking around. The city was simply too quiet. "Something's wrong here. Where did the aparoids go?"

Suddenly, someone could be heard running by all present. The one who had been running stopped in front of the group, and said, "The aparoids have fallen back as they were commanded to do. You have nothing more to fear from them."

Almost everyone present thought this mysterious person had somehow frightened the aparoid leader into calling off it's troops, but Krystal didn't like the feeling she was getting from whoever this unknown individual was. The one who had suddenly appeared before them was a female of the red fox species. She had long blonde hair atop her scalp tied into a ponytail with a black silky ribbon, hazel eyes, and was wearing something similar to a feminine version of Fox's outfit, though hers was a kind of maroon color where Fox's was white. Overall, she looked innocent to most, but from Krystal's eyes, she was too suspicious. Krystal bluntly asked the vixen, "Alright, what's going on here? Why did you call off your aparoids?"

Fox was shocked at the fact that Krystal would mention the aparoids as if the property of this vixen, let alone the emphasis placed on the possessive adjective she used. He whispered, "Krystal!" Into his wife's ear, and said to the mysterious vixen, "Forgive my wife for what she said, her ESP must be failing her today. I do also apologize, um..."

The strange vixen laughed lightly, with her heavenly sounding voice, and said "Sierra."

Fox, surprised by what the vixen had said, and not sure what to make of it, asked, "Huh?"

The vixen clarified herself by saying, "My name, it's Sierra."

Fox got it immediately then, but then who wouldn't have. He said to Sierra, "Ahh. Well, Sierra, as leader of the Star Fox Team, and sort of the representative of Corneria, I welcome you. This is the capital city of our planet."

Sierra abruptly said, "I know."

Sierra's knowledge of Corneria City, as little as it may possibly have been, surprised Fox nonetheless. Suddenly, Fox got a message from ROB, of course meaning that it was coming from the Great Fox. ROB, in his usual monotone voice, said, "Fox McCloud, this is ROB."

Fox hastily responded, "Alright, I hear you. What's wrong?"

ROB replied to Fox's question by stating, "Wolfen's have been spotted in the Cornerian vicinity. Wolf O'Donnell has requested a word with you, privately."

Fox hesitated out of shock and slight fear. What could Wolf want. Nevertheless, he agreed to speak with his rival. "Can you transfer his voice to my communicator?"

ROB bluntly replied, "Negative. He has requested that you meet him in person."

Fox was even more scared now, but he was also curious. He said, "Alright. Where?"

ROB replied to Fox's question by saying, "Wolf is currently aboard the Great Fox. You must not worry, I have been monitoring his actions closely and constantly."

Fox let out a deep sigh, and then said, "Alright. Fox out."

ROB said to him in response, "Affirmative." He then shut off the link.

Fox said his temporary farewell to his companions, and Sierra winked at him, causing him to stutter and blush, though the stuttering could not be heard, as he was already in the Arwing with the cockpit closed. He launched his ship, and it was not long before he breached the atmosphere. Fox was soon aboard the Great Fox, and he wasted no time in proceding to where he assumed was the place that Wolf had the greatest probability of being at, the cockpit of the mothership. Sure enough, Wolf was there to greet his rival when he walked in. They exchanged greetings, Fox being cautious as opposed to Wolf's rather cocky attitude. Wolf rocketed the little meeting he had requested into action by saying, "That girl you met, and I know you met her, pup. I want her dead. Her name's Sierra, right?"

Fox then asked, "Why should she die? Would you answer me that? Is that all you wanted to talk to me about? What if I don't?"

Wolf then yelled in a furious burst, "If you do not kill her, then I will! Anyone who tries to get in my way will die too! Don't think I exclude you from that, after all, I don't owe you anything. On the contrary, if I recall, you have a number of debts to me. Well, now's the time to repay. Kill her. I'm going to Corneria in 3 days, understood? Three days. It will be for a public repention I have volunteered to announce, and if she is still alive, I will see to it that she dies. I suggest you do it yourself, so no one I have no intention of killing will get hurt. Think about it. Also, yes, that is all I wanted to talk to you about. I'll leave now. Remember, you have until I arrive in Corneria three days from now. Don't bother asking why I want you to do it. Think of it this way. I'm hiring you as the mercenary you are. You don't need to know why, you just need to know that she has to die! So, can you do it, or do I have to go down there right now and save you the trouble. Either way is fine with me, I just prefer not to show myself in public in broad daylight, at least not for right now. What do you say?"

Fox thought about it, and then whispered, "I'll do it..."

Wolf, in a tone that was as if he was toying with his rival, asked, "What was that?"

Fox then yelled, "I'll do it! I'll kill the girl!"

Wolf clapped his paws together, and said, "Excellent. I expect you to not let me down. One other thing. If I find out you evacuated her from the planet when I get there, I'll hunt you down and kill you."

Fox nodded, and Wolf took his leave. Fox was quick to return to Corneria, and when his friends asked him what Wolf wanted, he remained silent.

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I personally like the way this is going, but then I'm the author. Anyway, that's it for Chapter 1.


	3. Chapter 2

Sorry for taking so long with this. I had a prolonged case of writer's block, and plus my computer was being stupid.

Chapter 2: Krystal's Desperation

Falco was getting impatient, but so far managed to keep his cool. He took a deep breath, and said to Fox, "Ok, buddy. I'll warn you now. I'm giving you one more chance to give me an answer before mister nice guy is out the door."

Fox heard Falco, but for some reason still refused to reply. In response to Fox's perpetual failure to comply, Falco lifted Fox up by the collar of his shirt, twisting it around his hand for a firm grip, and yelled, "Fox! What did you and Wolf talk about that has you so down?! I know that's what this is about, and you WILL tell us what happened! Now talk!"

Fox seemed unfazed by Falco's anger, and just averted his eyes from Falco's gaze, a troubled expression plaguing his face. Falco growled deeply, and dropped Fox, who at that point just fell to his knees. Krystal had been in deep thought, though no one else knew why. It would not be long before they felt stupid for not knowing why. Krystal's eyes shot open, and at a time simultaneous to that, one of her paws covered her face as she gasped. She had seen what Fox was thinking, and she said in a voice just above a whisper, "No..."

Marcus heard his mother, and turned to her, asking her, "What is it, mother?"

Krystal had rather labored breathing caused by her shock, and she was slowly stepping back away from the group, shaking her head slowly in disbelief. Suddenly, as her gaze fell upon Sierra, her eyes narrowed, and she pulled her blaster from it's holster, aiming at Sierra, all for no apparent reason. Fox gave an alarmed gasp, and ran in the way of Krystal's line of fire, asking, "Krystal, what's wrong with you all of a sudden?!"

As Fox did and said what he did, Krystal said, "Fox, get out of my way."

Fox, not understanding the situation, simply shook his head to tell her he wouldn't budge. Krystal then yelled, "Fox! Get out of my way!"

Just then, Sierra opened a communicator on her wrist, and said into it, "Alright, men. You know what to do."

Suddenly, three muscular, armored reptilian individuals with holstered guns at their sides surrounded Krystal. Fox recognized them almost immediately, and he said, "Sharpclaws? What the...You have Sharpclaws at your disposal?"

Sierra gave Fox no response, and said to her Sharpclaw men, "This vixen has publicly endangered my life. I think you know what that calls for."

The Sharpclaws nodded without a word, and then said to Krystal, "Gun on the ground, paws in the air."

Krystal scoffed, and said, "Not a chance!"

Sierra's Sharpclaws readied their own guns, and said, "Drop your gun or we will use force. You have been deemed a threat to the public."

Krystal suddenly gasped, looked to Fox with a worried expression, and said, "Fox, please do something!"

Fox shook his head slowly, and said, "No, Krystal. You threatened my life. I'm sorry, but I can't assist someone who is a threat to me or anyone else who is not an adversary, no matter who the threat happens to be. It's simply against what I believe in."

Krystal gasped again, and said, "Fox, you don't understand! She isn't an ally, and when you got in the way, I just-"

Fox cut her off by saying, "That's enough, Krystal. How can I possibly side with you after that."

Krystal, who had begun to cry silent tears at this point, said, "Fox, I'm sorry..."

Fox suddenly yelled, "You think that helps? Apologies will not replace redemption! Besides..." Fox then gave a smirk that really scared Krystal, and continued by saying, "I'm curious as to how you'll get out of this without my help."

Krystal gasped once again as she was carried away on Sierra's command, and then Falco yelled to Fox, "What the hell has gotten into you?!"

Fox looked to Falco, and said, "Calm down, Falco. It'll be good for her to learn how to handle such situations if she doesn't have any help."

Falco was dumbfounded, and afterwards, he yelled, "ARE YOU NUTS?!"

Fox covered his ears to block out most of the sound, and then said, "I'm serious. Besides, they're guards. Such individuals are trained to stick to their duties, no matter what the circumstance. What's the worst that could happen."

Meanwhile, Sierra was smirking sinisterly when no one was paying attention, and she sent a telepathic message to the Sharpclaws, saying to them, "Go ahead and deal with the situation as you normally would. I won't stop you."

The Sharpclaws all heard the telepathic message, and as they continued to lead Krystal away, they suddenly looked at her with a sinister gaze, causing Krysta to gulp as she realized that ahead was something that would ultimately be very painful. She struggled against their grips, but to no avail. One had her left arm, another her right, and the third her legs. As they passed the R&D lab on the way to their ship, Slippy suddenly burst out of the building, holding his blaster. He said to the Sharpclaws, "Alright, you beasts! Drop the girl!"

The Sharpclaw that held her legs looked at Slippy, and said, "Interference will not be tolerated. This girl is a threat to the Cornerian public, and will be treated as such according to our ways."

Slippy scoffed, and asked, "So, what did she do, and how will that be punished?"

The Sharpclaw who was holding her right arm spoke next, saying to Slippy, "She has threatened Fox McCloud of Team Star Fox. As for how she will be punished, she will be put through various types of mental torment. We plan to make her suffer for her misconduct as long as we deem necessary."

Slippy suddenly burst out, "SHE WOULD NEVER THREATEN FOX!!!"

The Sharpclaws stopped, and then Krystal said, "No Slippy. He said himself that he felt threatened by my actions. There's nothing you can do here. However, could you just tell Fox I'm sorry. Please? He might listen to you, you know me, and you're his best friend. You should be able to tighten a few loose screws. Just, hurry with whatever you intend to do!"

Slippy put his straight out hand horizontal against his forehead indicating understanding, and took off as fast as his legs would carry him in the direction they had come from. He thought to himself as he did so, 'I only hope I don't get there too late. Fox, what's happened to you, old pal?'

"Fox! What's wrong with you?!" Asked Falco in a yelling voice. Fox walked to Falco, and whispered,

"I told you, relax. I placed a tracer on Krystal not too long ago. I've just been playing along. Now, I need you to do me a favor and save Krystal from those brutes before any more damage is done. I have some business to take care of. Wolf asked me to do something, and I actually intended to do it from the moment Krystal called Sierra the leader of the Aparoids. Krystal's ESP doesn't lie. So, I need to find a way to dispose of Sierra that she won't pick up on." Falco nodded after Fox's explanation, and Fox secretly gave Falco the reciever for the tracer signals. He then said,

"One more thing. Could you take this note to her?"

Falco nodded, and was given the note. Fox then turned to Sierra, and walked a few steps toward her before saying,

"Excuse me, Sierra? I think we need to talk, but it's something we need to talk about in private, away from suspicious eyes and ears." Sierra, who had been in a sort of daze until now, looked up at Fox just then, and said to him,

"Oh, ok. Where shall we go?" Fox kind of stammered at the question, and finally said,

"I don't know, actually. Do you have any ideas?" Sierra thought long and hard about the question before saying,

"Hmm...How about the planet Titania? There won't be anyone around there, so we can talk about anything we want to."

"Sure, why not." Said Fox. He was also thinking 'Perfect.' Before long, Fox and Sierra were in Fox's Arwing, Fox in the front and Sierra in the back. As they took off, Falco did a two-digit kind-of flick as a farewell sign. Meanwhile, Krystal was telepathically seeing and hearing everything that was going on. She had been left alone for a while, but now the Sharpclaws were coming back. Just before they arrived, Krystal searched Sierra's thoughts, and gasped silently. She then began sending a telepathic message to Slippy, since Falco was coming to her aid.

"_Slippy, can you hear me?_" Slippy suddenly stopped and looked around for Krystal. He then realized that she was communicating using her telepathy. He also found that by closing his eyes, he could also communicate in this manner, probably because Krystal, in a sense, was inside his mind.

"_Yes Krystal, I hear you. What is it?_"

"_Slippy, you've got to hurry to the Great Fox! Falco is coming to rescue me, but Fox, he's in danger! I don't have time to explain, but you've got to hurry to Titania! When you get there, find Fox's location, and transport a Landmaster to him! He'll probably need back-up as well, because he's being led into a trap!_"

"_Understood, leave it to me!_"

"_Slippy, thank you. One more thing. Tell Fox that because of circumstances, once this is done, we can put it behind us. Oh, and also tell him that I'll be there to help him as soon as I can. Have a couple of Arwings prepared on Corneria for when Falco gets here._"

"_Will do! Good luck, Krystal, and hang in there until Falco gets there! Don't you go going insane on us. Use the adamant will of yours and don't you dare let them get to you!_" The telepathic link was suddenly cut off then.

'Krystal? Krystal! Uh oh, I've got to incvestigate this.' Slippy took out a laptop, and used it to perform a life form scan on the Cornerian surface. Once it was done, he searched for Krystal, which was easy since she was the only Cerenian on the planet, or anywhere for that matter. When he found the area, he suddenly yelled,

"Oh no!"

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What was Slippy's discovery, will Falco make it in time, and what is in store for Fox? The answers to these questions and more on the next chapter of 'An Epidemic Returns"!


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:The Search for Krystal

While Fox flew to Titania, Falco continued on his way when he suddenly skidded to a halt at the beeping of his communicator. He opened the channel for the incoming message, finding out that it was Slippy.

"Falco! I'm so glad I could reach you! You've got to hurry if you want to have any hope of saving Krystal!" Yelled Slippy.

"Whaddya mean?" Asked Falco in reply.

"What I mean is that the Sharpclaws are planning to suck out Krystal's life force! You see, they've been infected by the Aparoids!" Yelled Slippy. Falco growled in response to that, and then said,

"Alright, I'm going. I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't worry about Krystal, just do whatever it is you need to do."

"Alright. Don't let us down, Falco." Said Slippy.

"Hey! Don't forget who you're talking to!" Yelled Falco before closing the communication channel. He then took off as fast as he could, thinking 'just hold on, Krystal. Fox would kill me if you didn't.' He skidded to a halt again sas some Aparoids got in his path, some more also closing in behind and to either side of him. He pulled out his blaster, and mumbled,

"This isn't looking good..." He gritted his teeth and growled at the situation, when suddenly a familiar voice yelled,

"Hey Falco! Get outta the way or somethin'!" Falco looked up and saw a Wolfen charging a laser shot. In the cockpit was Leon, Falco's longtime rival. Falco nodded and activated a barrier device that he had brought along, after which Leon fired a series of charged shots at the enemies. The barrier lasted just long enough to protect Falco through the barrage, for which he was grateful. He waved gratefully at Leon, who scoffed egotistically, but soon could not help smiling and giving a thumbs up. Panther then flew up alongside Falco in his Wolfen, and said,

"Hop on my wing, we've got a girl to save." Falco hesitated, but then smiled and said,

"Thanks guys." He junped on one of the Wolfen's wings, and Panther gained some altitude before saying,

"Hey, arm yourself and cover my six." Falco nodded and pulled his Plasma Cannon from the large holster on his back, hoisting it over his shoulder in preparation of fire. Sure enough, numerous Aparoids arrived to greet them. Falco shot at them, but they weren't easy to take out. He managed, however, and Panther just continued flying. Meanwhile, Fox and Sierra were still on their way to Titania. It wasn't long now before they were entering the atmosphere. When the Arwing touched down, Fox and Sierra got out, and Fox suddenly turned to Sierra and said,

"Okay, I'm on to you, Sierra. You've fallen into my trap and now it's over." Sierra looked at Fox with an unfazed expression and said to him,

"Is that so? Well I'll have you know that I was about to say the same thing."

"What?!" Asked Fox in shock. Sierra smirked and chuckled, and replied,

"You heard me. I have the ability to back up my claim, do you?" She snapped her fingers and a large number of Aparoids removed from themselves a stealth mechanism. One of them destroyed the Arwing Fox had used to get there. Fox growled at the situation, and said to himself,

"Great..." He pulled out a Homing Launcher and began firing shot after shot at the numerous enemies, trying to keep them at bay. He destroyed a few, but he simply didn't have enough firepower for all of them. Then, when things seemed bleak, the Great Fox appeared overhead and three Landmasters were beamed down. Fox sighed in relief and hopped in the seat of the closest one, while Slippy beamed himself and his guest down. The guest was Fox's son, Marcus McCloud. They each hopped in a Landmaster as well, and though the enemy tried to counterattack, they were no match for the awesome offensive and defensive capabilities of the tanks. When the Aparoids were all destroyed, Sierra growled and retreated, leaving behind a larger, more powerful Aparoid to keep them busy. Fox fired a shot at the massive enemy, and it glowed and the attack vanished. Fox was left in shock at the result, and just barely managed to roll out of the way of the attack by the giant Aparoid, which was a large photon beam that had been charging since the Aparoid appeared. Fox looked at the beam as it travelled, and gasped at the energy reading picked up by some of the Landmaster's special equipment. He yelled,

"Whoa! What a reading!" Slippy and Marcus heard him, and Marcus said,

"I know! Hey Slippy, any idea why our Landmasters picked up such a reading?" Slippy was quite quick to respond, saying,

"Yeah. Photons. Thats what the beam was composed of. Pure photons." Fox gasped again, and asked,

"Seriously?! Well, I suppose that means we just have to be that much more careful. To top it off, however, I can't find a weak point. Man, where's Krystal when you need her." While they continued to futily combat the massive adversary, back on Corneria, Falco, Panther and Leon had run into some trouble of their own. Panther's Wolfen was surrounded by air-borne Aparoids, Though Leon tried, he could not break through their numbers, nor could Falco with his Plasma Cannon. Panther looked at Falco with a determined expression, then gestured to the road ahead. Falco looked in that direction, then checked the tracer monitor. The blip was not far from their current position. Falco then looked back at Panther and nodded.

"We'll distract them. Get moving." Said Leon.

Thanks again guys. You've been a great help. Don't go dying on me, ok?" Replied Falco.

"Hey, remember who you're talking to." Said Leon in a slightly irritated, yet humored voice.

"Enough. Just go. Krystal needs someone to rescue her after all, and quite frankly we're preoccupied." Said Panther in a calm voice. Falco was amazed that Panther could remain so calm in such a situation as this, but decided it was for his geater benefit anyway. He leaped from Panther's wing to Leon's, then to the ground, dashing off as quickly as he could. A ground dwelling Aparoid soon tried to get in his way, but he simply jumped it like it was a hurdle. A large blockade of Aparoids soon followed, which forced Falco to halt again. Shortly after he did so, however, The tall blockade was toppled by a familiar ship; the Monkey Arrow. Dash Bowman, the ship's pilot, did a U-turn back toward Falco, passed him a decent distance, then did another U-turn. Falco jumped on a wing as it passed him this time, and they were off in the direction of the blip. Falco took the Plasma Cannon back out, and destroyed some 12 o'clock resistance. Just as the Aparoid numbers increased again, Bill Grey's Cornerian Fighter flew up alongside the Monkey Arrow. Bill beckoned Falco over, and Falco gladly took the offer, jumping over to the other ship. Again he was off, and when Falco indicated the spot, Bill slowed down and decreased his altitude. Falco jumped off of the wing and silently thanked Bill, heading into the mysterious facility when Krystal was apparently being held shortly after. He pulled out his blaster, being unsure of what to expect. He asked himself,

"Why would they want the life-force of Krystal, of all people?" After a short pause, Falco suddenly halted as a voice spoke from an unknown source, saying,

"You really shouldn't talk to yourself. People'll think you're crazy."

"Who are you?! Show yourself!" Demanded Falco. In compliance, the source of the voice revealed itself. It was a large, muscular Sharpclaw weilding a battleaxe and a buckler. It had a sinister smirk creasing it's snout. A low growl escaped Falco's mouth, and he asked,

"Where's Krystal?!" The Sharpclaw laughed at Falco's demanding question, and said,

"I really don't think you're in any position to be demanding, but if you must know, she's deep in the heart of the building. Not that you'll reach her in time; this place is a labyrinth." Falco growled again, and said to the Sharpclaw,

"Yeah? Watch me." The Sharpclaw laughed again, and said to Falco,

"Not so fast. You have to get through me first!" Falco smirked for the first time in a while, and said,

"Fine! Bring it on, dino-breath!" The Sharpclaw growled and then roared at that insult, charging at Falco, axe poised offensively. Falco charged his blaster to full power, the rolled out of the way of the attack, causing the Sharpclaw to stumble. Falco used this precious time to shoot the Sharpclaw in the back with the fully charged shot. One shot was all it took as the shot blasted through the dinosaur's back and out it's chest, the victim of the shot keeling over, dead. Falco sighed and moved on into the depths of the interior. Before long he found a set of stairs with nowhere else to go but down. He growled and mumbled,

"Great. An underground facility." He took a deep breath, and descended into the underground labyrinth.


End file.
